Archive - April, 2012

Beware Of The Wolf At The Door

April 26, 2012 1 Comment


The wolf often dresses like a kindly old lady. It often seems as though the wolf means no harm; the wolf has a silver tongue dripping with liquid promises.

Although the wolf promised me the moon; I never fully believed the wolf, there was always the glint of something other mischief in the corner of his eye. I guess that’s the thing I’ve learnt about the entertainment industry.

On the outskirts of movie town, there are several old ladies (wolves) picking daisies and offering candy to tired travelers.

In Hollywood, the wolves are the middle men, people without any particular talent, or any love at all for the art of good storytelling. The wolves are hungry, they hunt the weak, the vulnerable, the innocent and the naive.

 

P:S: This is the eighth  in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright – Seven Sentences – Geoff Talbots Story

How The Love Of Money Defiles Creativity

April 25, 2012 11 Comments


Money and Creativity are terrible lovers but also best friends. They need each other but they cannot live together.

When money seduces creativity and takes her to bed, the soul of creativity is often damaged and hurt beyond recognition.

I write this because I felt the cruel hand of money as a bad lover and not a friend. The truth is I may have flirted with money but I never allowed myself to be seduced: I wasn’t wooed, I was raped.

And this is why our screenplay, the wildly creative and outrageous “The Emancipation Of Putz”  has to this day never been made into a movie.

The men with the money promised to love her forever, but they were filled with greed, they loved no other except their own.

 

P:S: This is the sixth  in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright Seven Sentences – Money and Creativity

It Was All About The Emancipation Of Putz

April 24, 2012 1 Comment


I had written a comedy screenplay, a Jewish screwball comedy/satire called “The Emancipation Of Putz.”

It was strange that I had written such a piece for I was not Hebrew and I had never been to Israel, however I was more than familiar with my own need for emancipation.

A company out of the United Kingdom loved my script and they had agreed to a 100% finance deal if I attached a well-known Hollywood Producer; they had connected me to Bonnie Bruckheimer, who was formerly married to Jerry Bruckheimer and a very successful producer in her own right.

Bonnie loved the script and she loved me (but not in the same way she had loved Jerry), and as we met over a $9 bottle of sparkling water in West Hollywood I could feel my future beginning to crystallize.

Filmmaking had never been so easy. I was sure that in a few short weeks I would be moving out of my $9/night hostel into my very own Beverly Hills condo.

 

P:S: This is the fifth  in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright Seven Sentences – Geoff Talbots Story

It Was The Best Day Of My Life

April 23, 2012 2 Comments


Some days are made in heaven; the kind of day where every step you take appears to have been arranged by the kind finger of God.

I don’t have many of those days; there is a general un-holiness about me that dictates that I must search for my own gold signet ring in a mountain of shit.

I’m not pissed about it; I learnt a long time ago that real life is full of blood, sweat and broken fingernails. Toil is not all bad, for it sharpens and prunes the soul.

Okay I admit it, some days I am pissed about it, how about you?

So why was today the best day of my life? I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

 

P:S: This is the fifth  in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright Seven Sentences – Geoff Talbots Story

My Seven Rules Of Writing

April 21, 2012 7 Comments


1 - We live on borrowed knowledge. All that would flow out of us would be an amalgamation of what we have heard, seen, read. Do as much justice to be as original to your work as you can be.

2 - Do not copy or rewrite other people’s work, but if you find traces of your favourite author in your work in terms of style or tone, feel good that you are at least getting closer to someone whom you admire. It is the deepest form of gratitude you can demonstrate.

3 - Do not be afraid to find yourself via your writing. We write to access ourselves, sometimes our deepest fears. Pay attention. Be open to everything.

4 - Man by nature is a control freak – let your characters take their own course.

5 - Contrary to argument, traces of who you are will be found in your work, inevitably, inescapably.

6 - Be in love with what you are writing.

7 – Final word – WRITE!

 

This Guest Blog is bought to you by… Farahdeen Khan is a painter, poet and writer. To his credit are the books Heartbeat (Unisun Publications) and Inner Voices (Mirage Books) and Chicken Soup for the Friends Soul (Westland). Khan’s articles, critique and reviews have been published in various dailies, journals and magazines. He holds an MA in English Literature. Khan is a partner in 2927 Communications, a multi-faceted creative consultancy.

2012 Seven Sentences – Seven Rules Of Writing – Guest Blog

 

Hollywood Is Full Of Homeless People

April 20, 2012 0 Comments


Two weeks later and I am still waiting for my frigin meeting. That’s the thing about LA, it can take forever to meet with anybody unless you are somebody.

I could be somebody, whatever the hell that means. You should see the lights go on in the eyes of strangers, when I tell them that I have a $20 Million dollar film funded 100%; the illusion of success lights a fake friendly fire in the eyes of the most ambitious souls.

If greed is good and fame will satisfy you; then where are the good and greedy influential souls in LA? Probably on the front cover of variety but they aren’t walking with the grime on the pavements of Hollywood Boulevard.

Therein lies the broken illusion of Hollywood, the homeless line the streets, and the rich and famous are barely spotted, as they avoid the sparse concrete lair that has become the home to so many failed dreams.

 P:S: This is the fourth in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright Seven Sentences – Geoff Talbots Story

The Cash Is Falling From My Pockets

April 19, 2012 1 Comment


I wrote these seven sentences three years ago, on my first night in Los Angeles.

“Oh the wonders of jetlag… it’s 2am and I’m lying stretched out across a super king size in a super cheap motel one mile out from California’s LAX. The motel phone just rang robbing my frizzled brain of restless sleep and although I was half expecting to hear the voice of some sleazed up “call girl service” it turned out to be my old buddy Kelvin, a Kiwi/Californian now living in LA. Kelvin’s offered to pick me up at 6am and drive me out to his friend’s digs in Hollywood where I can rest my heavy head for the weekend.

Is it good news when the ex-wife of one of the biggest Producers in Hollywood reads your script and says that it’s hysterical and wants to meet you as soon as you arrive in town? Who knows; only one way to find out, gotta contact that broad, gotta dial her number.

The exchange rate here is poor and the cash in my pocket is only going to last me so long.

But I’m living according to a different kind of providence and although I ain’t sleeping I’m faithfully following my dreams…”

 

P:S: This is the third  in a series of blogs chronicling my adventures in Los Angeles over the last 3 years. See “How the F@*k Did I Get Here” to begin the adventure.

2012 Copyright Seven Sentences – Geoff Talbots Story
Page 1 of 3123»